Alarm surrounding the bizarre effects of the latest street drug can be seductive and makes for excellent headlines. But, ask Emily Goddard and Ian Hamilton, what about the harm this causes? | Independent, UK

Alcohol was a poisonous substance millions of years ago. Happily, humans have evolved to be able to drink it and a recent two-day conference revealed the many positive effects of the liquid – especially when used as a part of everyday bonding rituals | Morning Advertiser, UK

Scotland Yard has been forced to deny claims that it has lost control of the capital’s streets after residents said police ignored complaints against drug dealers on an estate where a father was battered to death on his doorstep | Telegraph, UK

This report evaluates the impacts of drug policies implemented across the world over the past decade, using data from the United Nations (UN), complemented with peer-reviewed academic research and grey literature reports from civil society | IDPC, UK

Six new entries with a strong emphasis on strategies for reducing alcohol-related harm and interventions tailored to the needs of particularly vulnerable, marginalised, and underserved groups. Four full-length analyses explore alcohol licensing, minimum unit pricing, brief interventions, and opioid substitution therapy, while two ‘bite-size’ pieces highlight outreach to groups with different life circumstances and patterns of substance use | Drug and Alcohol Findings, UK

The Health Research Board has commissioned a national household study to gain insight into people’s behaviours and attitudes in relation to alcohol and other drugs, gambling and tobacco. This will provide us with reliable information on the extent of the use of these substances and on gambling behaviour in Ireland. We can use this information to identify gaps in policy and service provision | HRB, Ireland

A reformed heroin addict has been hailed “a leader for our city” by the Metropolitan Mayor of Limerick for his extensive efforts in tackling his own addiction and advocating for victims of homelessness and drug misuse | Limerick Leader, Ireland

Drug use in pregnancy can lead to serious health risks for both the mother and the fetus, including HIV infection and fatal overdose. At the same time, drug use during pregnancy need not lead to any negative outcomes, or to outcomes significantly different from those experienced by non drug-using women | Open Society Foundations, USA

Teens and young adults who use Juul brand e-cigarettes are failing to recognize the product's addictive potential, despite using it more often than their peers who smoke conventional cigarettes, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine | News Medical, USA

New research from Duke and Yale universities shows flavorings added to e-cigarettes and vaping devices are transforming more than marketing. The chemical additives react to e-liquid, or e-juice, creating new compounds that could trigger irritation and inflammation when inhaled | EurekAlert, USA

Expungement is going national. The process of having prior cannabis convictions wiped—and beginning to repair the many harms caused by being labeled a criminal—has entered mainstream conversation | Filter Magazine, USA

A young Vermont mother who died as a result of opioid addiction is being memorialized by her family in a fearless obituary calling for a more open understanding of the illness that took her life | CNN, USA

Eighty-five years ago, a Florida murder began a moral panic about marijuana use. On October 16, 1933, 20-year-old Victor Licata took an axe and killed his parents, brothers and sister while they slept | Spectator, USA

Dr. Naftali, whose study is being billed as the first of its kind, found that an eight-week treatment with cannabis oil containing a four to one CBD to THC ratio produced clinical remission in up to 65 per cent of individuals with Crohn’s disease | CTV news, Canada

OK I am not surprised that the report I wrote with a team of honest and dedicated people gets summarily dismissed by the Bloomberg shills at the FCTC and all their cronies as simply a product of ‘tobacco influence’. But that doesn’t stop me from fuming | NSP blog, UK

“County lines” is a term used by the police to describe a growing practice among criminal gangs: when demand for drugs fails to meet the supply in major cities, gangs travel to remote rural areas, market towns or coastal locations in search of new customers | Conversation, UK

There is often no mention of prescription medication. Nor does the guidance offered remind us that the drinks cabinet is the source of one of the most dangerous drugs on the planet | Independent voices, UK

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